What's next for Personal Lines insurance?
Why does the Motor Insurance Database exist?
The Motor Insurance Database (MID) helps to combat the crime of uninsured driving.
If your customers need to make a claim against those vehicles, then it’s the Motor Insurers’ Bureau that will ensure the compensation gets paid. However, it then passes those costs back to the insurance companies, who, in turn, pass them on to policyholders as higher premiums.
By keeping the MID up to date, we’re all helping to keep the cost of vehicle premiums down. You can find out more details about the MID at www.mib.org.uk
Who updates the Motor Insurance Database, and when?
It may be you or it may be us that does the legwork – but whenever new cover starts, or there’s a material change to details, the Motor Insurance Database (MID) needs to be updated. It all depends on whether or not the policy certificate has a vehicle registration number on it:
- if the policy certificate shows a vehicle registration number then Ageas will update the MID;
- if the policy certificate doesn’t show a vehicle registration number, then it may be the case that you need to update the MID – but we’ll agree this with you in advance.
The important thing is that, as the insurer, Ageas needs to know the new details before the inception date or the date that any change is effective.
If we don’t have the details, then we can’t issue the appropriate policy documents and certificates – which means the MID isn’t up to date, and your customer may not be covered.
What happens if the MID isn’t updated properly?
In short, if the MID isn’t up to date then it’s harder to track down which vehicles are or aren’t insured – which can delay a claim. Also, the police may stop the vehicle unnecessarily, or the registered keeper may get an Insurance Advisory Letter from the Motor Insurers’ Bureau. This letter will advise them their vehicle appears to be uninsured: unless they take action, they’ll receive a penalty from the DVLA.
For fleet and motor trade policies, what information is needed?
As a condition of fleet policies, we ask for ‘Mandatory’ and ‘Preferred’ vehicle details. These comprise:
- Vehicle on date (date vehicle was added to the policy)
- Vehicle Registration Number (VRN)
- Vehicle Type (car, commercial vehicle, minibus or special type)
- Make and Model
- Cubic capacity (CC) for cars, Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW) for commercial vehicles
- Vehicle off date (date vehicle removed from this policy)
What about Temporary Additional Vehicles?
If the vehicle registration number is to be shown on a certificate, then a temporary vehicle needs its details to be entered onto the MID.
If the policy is a fleet or motor trade policy and the vehicle registration number isn’t shown, the continuous period on cover is less than 15 days, then the details don’t need entering onto the MID – but we do recommend it as best practice. The insured must keep records of all such vehicles including the dates on cover, the vehicle registration number and the insurance policy number for a period of at least 7 years. By adding all details to the MID, the 7-year record is maintained on that database.
